I started to share some cooking resources that I really like, most of all because they brought me new knowledge and new perspectives on food and cooking. After listing some online cooking courses and forums I’d like to mention another type of resource that I use extensively: food podcasts!

How sounds basil to you? Food podcasts can be a great source of inspiration and knowledge…

I always liked good radio. But with my growing interest in food I really discovered podcasts for me. Now I regularly listen to a number of podcasts, most of them actually on food related issues. Nothing kills the boring time of a train commute better than an anecdote packed episode of Cooking Issues. Nothing better than listening to a famous chef in Chef’s Story when I’m in the kitchen…

Podcasts

Isn’t podcast the thing where random people switch on a mic and inconsitently tell you random stuff for hours?
Well yes and no.
I find that most podcasts are indeed quite rich in anecdotes, but that can also be a strong side. If done well, it often gives this format a very personal authentic note and can reveal hilarious stories as well as occasionally invaluable hints and tricks.
But let’s jump right away to some of my favorites (let me know if you know of other great food podcasts!):

Heritage Radio Network!
This is not a podcast, but an entire radio station full of fantastic, food related podcasts. Don’t miss out on this!
Here some great examples out of the Heritage Radio Program:

Cooking Issues
Dave Arnold, a food and DIY food-tech freak (well, freak and legend I’d say) answers about every technical question their listeners have on food and cooking. He and his team obviously enjoy making the show. And so do I as a regular listener.
After listening to dozens of their shows, I constantly ask myself what new cooking device I could build from random pieces of kitchen or lab equipment I come accross.

Chef’s Story
In Chef’s Story Dorothy Cann Hamilton, the founder and head of the prestigeous International Culinary Institute in NYC, explores the career paths of famous (mostly US american) chefs. She does that in form of very intimate, personal interviews which give a very profound insight into the high-quality restaurant world.

A Taste of the Past
Linda Pelaccio takes you along through fascinating episodes of culinary history. Be it the rich history of (refined) sugar and its shifting appreciation or the history of the potato chip… A Taste of the Past not only tells fascinating stories of former food cultures and techniques, but it always also brings our current views into perspective.

Obviously, there are many other interesting podcasts on the Heritage Radio website1, but let’s move on.

Good Foods
Evan Kleinman does a wonderful job in hosting this elaborate food podcast. Every issue covers multiple topics and is packed with interesting interviews, restaurant reviews and market reports.

BBC Food Programme
Each episode of this high-quality radio show concentrates on a particular topic or theme. Quite interesting actually…

American Test Kitchen Radio
Fairly professional show on a very diverse range of food related topics. This includes comments, recipes, and reviews of kitchen equipment.

The Feed Podcast
Chef Rick Bayless and Food Reporter Steve Dolinsky explore the world of food, talk to chefs and other people in the scene and let chefs cook and explain dishes in the show.

Edible Radio
Another nice food podcast with a strong emphasis on local and sustainable food production and culture.

Sure, there must be many more… but I just don’t know about many others. And strange enough, most of the podcasts I listed are US based. Naturally, some of the topics and certainly many of the people appearing in interviews are US based as well. I really wish we’d have some sources of comparable quality here in Europe.
And I really wonder why we don’t.
Or is it just that I am not aware of them?2

Footnotes

Other Heritage Radio programs I found interesting where Cherry Bomb Radio or the Beer Session Radio. Since Heritage Radio is based in Brooklyn, NYC, some podcasts mostly focus on very local topics which obviously makes them far less interesting for people like me, being thousands of kilometers away. [↩]

For the German readers: the only decent food podcasts I could find where Culinaricast or Kombüse, but honestly the food podcast landscape seems far less professional and diverse. [↩]